Amos 5:19 (GNV)

Passage

As if a man did flee from a lyon, and a beare met him: or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Nearby Context

Amos 5:17 And in al the vines shalbe lamentation: for I wil passe through thee, saith the Lord.

Amos 5:18 Woe vnto you, that desire the day of the Lord: what haue you to do with it? the day of the Lord is darkenes and not light.

Amos 5:19 As if a man did flee from a lyon, and a beare met him: or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

Amos 5:20 Shal not the day of the Lord be darkenes, and not light? euen darkenes and no light in it?

Amos 5:21 I hate and abhorre your feast dayes, and I wil not smelll in your solemne assemblies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "flee", "lyon", "beare", "went", "house", "leaned", "hand", and "wall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "flee" and "lyon", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Woe vnto you that desire the day..." into verse 20's "Shal not the day of the Lord...", so "flee" and "lyon" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "flee" and "lyon" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.